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A CAD rendering of the Condor Door

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Engineering Design Consultants, Ltd. completes development
of heavy truck door for American LaFrance

PORTLAND, Ore., 2001--Engineering Design Consultants, Ltd. (EDC) recently finished the complete development of the doors seen on American LaFrance's line of Condor trucks. This door development project is particularly noteworthy because EDC designed, tested and helped construct the door without ever physically seeing the completed connecting Condor truck cab.

Portland, Ore., based EDC designed and sourced the parts for the Condor door using only rough ergonomic guidelines and door-surround geometry given to them by American LaFrance designers in Cleveland, N.C. The door structure was designed and tested for strength, FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) and ergonomic factors off-site at EDC headquarters in Portland. The door was assembled at Portland based Freightliner LLC. with the assistance of on-site EDC employees.

After assembly was completed, EDC employees traveled with the completed door to American LaFrance headquarters in Cleveland, N.C., for final assembly with the rest of the truck structure. Despite rough design guidelines and complete off-site design and construction, the door delivered by EDC fit the Condor cab flawlessly.

"It is very difficult to create door designs precise enough to fit a truck cab without any major reworking; it is even more difficult to create well-fitting doors when you are 2800 miles away from the rest of the design team and the actual cab," said Mike Smith, EDC Director of Engineering.

American LaFrance Senior Development Engineer, Eric Kominek, agreed that EDC provided exemplary services on the door design that were crucial to the overall production of the Condor.

"EDC acted as an extension of our own engineering department by sourcing vendors, getting quotes, meeting budget constraints, designing components, and documenting the entire assembly--all of which was done per our standards," said Kominek. "EDC's involvement on the Condor door was essential to the timely development of the truck."

The perfectly engineered Condor door plainly illustrates the off-site engineering and design capabilities of quality design consulting firms like EDC.

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Check out EDC's work on the electrical portion of the
Condor and the Condor Door:

Condor-Electrical Press Release Condor Press Release

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